Baseball, football season highlighted

Published 1:01 am Wednesday, December 27, 2006

By BY BRUCE HIXON – sports editor
* The Brewton Little League 11-year-old All-Stars won the district championship with a 4-3 win over East Brewton.
* Jefferson Davis Community College athletes Kyle Reed, Alex Granade and Jessica Cunningham were named to the Academic All-American Team.
* East Brewton's Little League Age 11-12 All-Stars fell a win short of their first ever district championship, as they dropped two decisions in the title round to Covington County.
* The Brewton Babe Ruth 15-year-old All-Stars dropped an 11-9, extra-inning decision to Monroeville in the district championship game.
* The Brewton Little League Age 11-year-old All-Stars went two and out at the state tournament at Mobile with a 9-4 loss to Huntsville and an 8-1 setback to Phenix City.
* The Brewton American Legion baseball team concluded a 6-23 season under the direction of first-year coach Michael Parker with a 6-5 loss to Wiregrass and a 16-0 loss to Montgomery in the district tournament.
* W.S. Neal High School hired Britney Shelly as its new head volleyball coach.
August
* W.S. Neal senior left tackle Jared Cooper ended a long, heated recruiting battle when he verbally committed to Auburn University.
* Brewton native Robbie Cotton won the Montgomery Country Club Golf Invitational in record style with a 13-under-par 197.
* The W.S. Neal Blue Eagles football team lost its preseason game at Andalusia 44-18.
September
* Both the T.R. Miller Tigers and W.S. Neal Blue Eagles football teams opened their respective seasons on winning notes. T.R. Miller downed Clarke County 21-6, while W.S. Neal blanked Daleville 28-0.
* The JDCC Lady Warhawks volleyball team snapped a 26-game losing streak with a four-set win over North Lake Tx.
* T.R. Miller football coach Jamie Riggs won his 200th game at the school when the Tigers downed Monroe County 48-12.
* W.S. Neal football started what turned out to be a seven-game winning streak when the Blue Eagles ripped Opp 60-14. The Blue Eagles scored at least 40 points in the first six of those wins.
October
* The T.R. Miller Lady Tigers volleyball team won its second straight Escambia County Tournament championship with a perfect 3-0 record.
* The W.S. Neal volleyball team set a school record for wins in a season when it beat Escambia County in the final game of the Escambia County. It was the eighth win of the season for the Lady Blue Eagles. The 2005 team had held the previous record with seven wins.
* The T.R. Miller Tigers football team overcame a nine-point deficit in the final three minutes to stun Class 4A no. 1 Thomasville 28-23. The win moved T.R. Miller into sole possession of first place in Class 4A Region 1. Tigers quarterback/kicker Baxley Raines was named Scout South's Player of the Week for the state and Coach Jamie Riggs was tabbed the Coach of the Week after that win.
* The W.S. Neal volleyball team clinched its first .500 season with a win over Opp.
* The W.S. Neal Blue Eagles football team outscored Jackson 54-39 to clinch its first playoff berth since 2003.
* The T.R. Miller Tigers wrapped up the Class 4A Region 1 championship with a 33-6 win at Hillcrest.
* The T.R. Miller Lady Tigers volleyball team extended their school record winning streak to 11 games when it beat W.S. Neal in the opening game of the Area Tournament. The streak was snapped in the championship match where T.R. Miller lost to Andalusia. The Lady Tigers' runner-up spot earned them a berth in the Regional Tournament.
* W.S. Neal beat T.R. Miller on the first time on the football field in 10 years when it rallied from a 21-point halftime deficit for a 42-35 victory. The Blue Eagles completed their comeback when Justin Smith hauled in a 30-yard touchdown pass from Marquis Barksdale with eight seconds left. The loss ended T.R. Miller's three-week reign atop the Class 4A state poll and spoiled its bid for an undefeated regular season.
* Brewton Middle School quarterback Wil Riggs threw four touchdowns passes, as the Tigers downed W.S. Neal 32-6. The win enabled Brewton t finish with an undefeated season at 8-0.
* After a fourth place finish in regional competition, the T.R. Miller volleyball team had its season come to a close with a three-set loss at Alabama Christian academy in the sub-state round. T.R. Miller finished play with a 17-13 record.
November
* JDCC middle hitter Jessica Stafford was named to the Region 22 Second Team.
* Both T.R. Miller and W.S. Neal won their respective football playoff opener. The Tigers ripped Greene County 55-28, while W.S. Neal downed Jemison 35-21.
* T.R. Miller Tigers infielder Baxley Raines signed with Troy University.
* T.R. Miller junior Crystal Higdon took 10th place at the state cross country meet. Higdon qualified for state competition with an eighth place finish at the Section meet.
* Both T.R. Miller and W.S. Neal were knocked out of the football playoffs in the second round. The tigers fell to Elmore County 28-10 and finished their season with a 10-2 record. W.S. Neal lost to Trinity Presbyterian 24-14 and finished its season with a 9-3 record.
December
* UMS-Wright snapped the T.R. Miller Lady Tigers basketball team's 56-game home winning streak with a 37-35. T.R. Miller had won its first 51 games in the new gym.
* The T.R. Miller Tigers basketball team won the Escambia County Tournament champion-ship for the first time in four years.
Senior forward Wade Jackson was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.
* The T.R. Miller Lady Tigers basketball team had their streak of five straight Escambia County Tournament championships snapped when they lost to tournament champ Escambia County 49-39.
* W.S. Neal senior left tackle Jared Cooper was named the Alabama Sports Writers Association Class 4A Lineman of the Year.

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